This Lightning Off-Season Move Is Already Looking Good
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a bit of a quiet off-season, but they did bring in a handful of new players. One of them was defenseman Charle-Edouard D'Astous, as the Bolts signed him to a one-year, two-way contract in May.
The Lightning signing D'Astous did not get a ton of attention when it was first announced. Yet, with the way that he has been playing early on this season, there is no question that he is making an impact with the Bolts.
D'Astous started the season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Syracuse Crunch, where he posted one goal, two assists, three points, and a plus-3 rating in four games. However, since getting called up to the Lightning's roster, he has been solid.
In eight games this season with the Lightning so far, D'Astous has posted one goal, five points, nine penalty minutes, 11 hits, and a plus-1 rating. This included him recording two assists in the Lightning's most recent matchup against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 8.
With this, D'Astous is proving to be a solid depth addition to the Lightning's roster. If the left-shot blueliner continues to make an impact with his two-way play, he could end up being a complete steal for the Lightning.
Lightning Injury Report: Ryan McDonagh & Anthony Cirelli
The injury bug has been hitting the Tampa Bay Lightning lately, as defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward Anthony Cirelli are both currently sidelined. McDonagh and Cirelli are both very important parts of the Lightning's roster, so the Bolts are undoubtedly looking forward to both players being fully healthy.
Now, injury updates on McDonagh and Cirelli have been provided.
According to Lightning team reporter Benjamin Pierce, McDonagh is still being evaluated following exiting the Bolts' Nov. 8 contest against the Washington Capitals early due to his injury.
Pierce also shared that Cirelli is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper is hopeful that the key center will be back in the lineup against the New York Rangers on Nov. 12.
McDonagh has been off to a solid start this season with the Lightning, as he has recorded three goals, three assists, six points, 26 blocks, and a plus-1 rating. He was limited to only 6:12 of ice time during the Lightning's most recent matchup against the Capitals due to injury.
Cirelli, on the other hand, missed the Lightning's matchup against the Capitals entirely due to his injury. In 14 games so far this season with the Bolts, the 2015 third-round pick has recorded seven goals, four assists, 11 points, and a plus-6 rating.
Dan Campbell kills false narrative about why he took over Lions offense
It needed to happen. The Detroit Lions' offense just wasn't clicking the way we've been used to seeing them click around here for so long. Lions head coach Dan Campbell taking over felt like the right move at the right time, and now there's a feeling as if the entire unit is recharged.
On Monday, Campbell talked about why he made the decision to start calling the plays on offense, and the message was more than anything about how he just wants the team to be better and how some shuffling around could help with that.
"...Sometimes it’s no different than when everything comes together, you’re trying to put together the best team that you can because they all have strengths. And then you play to those strengths, and whatever this player’s strength is, it can cover up for this other player’s deficiency, and vice versa. And I think that is how the whole organization works." Campbell said. "I think that’s the coaching staff in all three phases. And sometimes you’ve just got to move some things around. You’ve got the right people, it’s just about putting people in different spots, and all of a sudden, you’ve clicked. It just fit right in place, and then you’re humming. So, I think that’s some of it. And we’ve got the right staff, we’ve got the right players. And so, yesterday was a step in the right direction.”
No Lions players approached Dan Campbell about making the change
That all makes a ton of sense. One theory that some fans on social media brought to the table all really started with a tweet from NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, where he suggests there was a disconnect between Lions offensive coordinator John Morton and players. That had some wondering if players came to Campbell requesting a change.
On Tuesday, Campbell went on 97.1 The Ticket and flatly said that "nothing like that happened, it was just me." So that takes care of that. Personally, I think Garafolo's tweet might have been misread by some. I think maybe the "disconnect' part of it led some to infer that meant there was infighting and a lot of drama. That doesn't seem to be the case at all, and that's not just because of what Campbell said.
Campbell also flat-out said on Tuesday that he will continue to be the play caller for the Lions. He alluded to it on Monday, but this was pretty much a full-on declaration. There's no indication of whether or not that means he's doing it for the rest of the year or if he plans to give the reins back to Morton. There was certainly some allusion to the idea that Morton could get it back on Monday. It's all a wait-and-see at this point.
